And, addressing the use of Snatch Land Rovers, which he deemed to be unsafe and prompted his decision to stand down, he said: “I had to resign.

“I had warned (the MoD) time and time again that there were going to be needless deaths if we were not given the right equipment, and they ignored this advice. There is blood on their hands.

“There was no other vehicle to use. The simple truth is that the protection on these vehicles is inadequate and this led to the unnecessary deaths.”

The BBC’s Caroline Wyatt said the ex-commander sounded “profoundly disillusioned” by his experiences”, adding that there were an “incredibly diverse” range of views on the progress of the campaign in Afghanistan.

However, she said: “It is a campaign that many people on the ground say has been under resourced [and] under funded on all sides.”

Our correspondent pointed to the US’ decision to deploy a further 17,000 military personnel to Afghanistan as evidence that the current situation in the country is problematic and there is a desire for a new strategy.

‘Making progress’

A spokesman for the MoD acknowledged that the Snatch was not suitable for high-risk environments, but was “mission critical” for certain operations.

He added that new technology and state-of-the art armoured vehicles were continuing to reach Afghanistan, and the anticipated arrival of additional US troops meant the fight would be taken to the Taleban with greater vigour than ever.

“It is true that in an area the size of Helmand there is a limit to how much ground we can hold,” the spokesman said.

“But that does not mean we are not making progress. We are.

“The security challenge is manageable by the available forces and the overriding mood of the local population is one of optimism and hope.”

He added: “Quentin Davies has already made clear that any offence caused by remarks he made on the issue was entirely inadvertent.”